Battle of Keretsky

The Battle of Keretsky was fought in 1916 during World War I. The Russian Empire and the combined armies of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary fought for control of the Carpathian town of Keretsky in present-day western Ukraine, resulting in a victory for the Central Powers.

The fighting along the frontier of western Ukraine had been dragging on for two years as the Imperial Russian Army and the Austro-Hungarian Army fought a series of seesaw battles for control of the region. German reinforcements motivated the Austro-Hungarians to launch a renewed counteroffensive from 1915 to 1916, and one of the towns caught up in the offensive was Keretsky. Russian cossack riflemen picked off dozens of Central Powers soldiers as they streamed down a hill on the opposite side of the town, but the Russian forces stationed in the town were overwhelmed by German and Austro-Hungarian forces, who staunchly defended their newly-captured grounds from Russian counterattacks. Ultimately, the Russians were forced to call off their attacks on the town, leaving Keretsky in Austro-Hungarian hands.